Then came an announcement that the so-called “Citgo 6” were being released from a Venezuelan prison to house arrest, a clear overture to U.S. officials who have long criticized Caracas’ 2017 detention on corruption charges of the six executives from Houston-based Citgo Petroleum a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state oil company.
The Biden administration was still analyzing the “Citgo 6” move when Mr. Maduro made headlines again by announcing that two stalwart members of Venezuela’s opposition including a formerly jailed activist would be allowed to fill seats on the country’s National Electoral Council.
“Maduro is trying to get Washington’s attention,” said Geoff Ramsey, who heads the Venezuela program at the Washington Office on Latin America. “The question is what can Washington give in return to induce even greater concessions from him?”
The Biden administration would like you to know that, whatever is happening at the border, it’s not Joe Biden’s fault. It’s Donald Trump’s. White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said Sunday the historic surge of unaccompanied minors in recent months isn’t “because of a speech Joe Biden gave,” but “because of horrible conditions in El Salvador and Guatemala and Honduras.”
Never mind that conditions in those countries have been horrible for at least the last five administrations. The important thing, President Biden said in an interview that aired Friday, is that his administration “has …